Tigresses claim share of 2nd spot; Eagles snap skid

MANILA, Philippines – University of Santo Tomas continued to lead the challengers as the Tigresses climbed to a share of second in the UAAP women’s basketball tournament on Sunday, October 16 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The UST Tigresses demolished the the University of the East in a 63-point rout, 107-44, to improve to 4-1 and join La Salle at second place, right behind defending champion National University (5-0).

Tacky Tacatac bounced back hard after a subpar game in their last match against Ateneo last Wednesday, going for 27 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 steals.

The Lady Warriors kept in step with UST early, trailing by just three, 15-18, before the Tigresses unleashed a 34-11 run to build a 26-point lead at the half, 52-26, and never looked back.

Eka Soriano flirted with a quadruple-double, tallying 20 points, 8 assists, 8 steals, and 7 rebounds for UST.

Brigette Santos had 12 points, 9 assists, and 6 steals, while Rachel Ambos (12 points, 11 rebounds) and Nikki Villasin (11 points) also delivered.

UST forced 50 turnovers off the Lady Warriors, getting 51 points off those with Pauline Anastacio and Joyce Terrinal committing 11 errors each.

Anastacio, along with Althea Lorena, Claire Sajol, and Kamba Kone paced UE with 8 points each.

UST will be back home on Wednesday at the Quadricentennial Pavilion when it battles Far Eastern University, while the Lady Warriors go against University of the Philippines.

Ateneo ends losing streak

In the second game, rookie Kacey Dela Rosa towed Ateneo to a 67-61 victory over UP to halt its three-game slide.

Dela Rosa, a freshman out of Chiang Kai Shek High School, unleashed a monster double-double of 30 points and 20 rebounds to go with 7 blocks.

Her statline eclipsed multiple season-highs, surpassing Dindy Medina of Adamson’s 29 points against University of Santo Tomas last October 1; overtaking Fina Niantcho of La Salle and Kamba Kone of UE’s 19-rebound efforts – both happening last October 5, and resetting her own mark of 6 blocks which she set back on October 1 against FEU.

Ateneo improved to 2-3 to tie UP and Adamson at joint fourth.

Jhazmin Joson also helped carry the Eagles, dropping a triple-double of 11 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists, while Sandra Villacruz got 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Dela Rosa spearheaded an 11-5 run in the fourth frame, scoring 9, to give the Eagles a nine-point lead with 1:07 left, 64-55.

But Christie Bariquit nailed four straight points to pull the Maroons back within five, 59-64, with 37.1 seconds to go.

Dela Rosa and Joson, though, kept Ateneo on top by icing the game from the stripe.

“We really expect a lot from Shaq and Kobe. That’s what I call them (Dela Rosa and Joson),” said Ateneo head coach LA Mumar.

“I also commend my other players – Sandra Villacruz, LJ Miranda, and Junize Calago when they do their stuff, it allows these two to do their stuff.”

Kaye Pesquera led UP with 16 points while Bariquit got 13 points and 10 rebounds.